URC SCENE SETTER: Chance for coastal teams to lay a marker

The two South African coastal teams returned from their respective Vodacom United Rugby Championship tours under pressure and facing two tough home games before the international break but at the same time welcoming the opportunity to make a statement.

The Hollywoodbets Sharks and the DHL Stormers have both lost two games in three starts, which was short of what they were aiming at. They both play the two most recent URC champions over the next two weeks, with the Stormers hosting Munster, the 2022/2023 champions, in Cape Town on Saturday, while the Sharks will entertain reigning champions Glasgow Warriors.

The opponents are reversed the following week, with Glasgow heading for the DHL Stadium and Munster going to Hollywoodbets Kings Park. For the Sharks you could say they are up against all the URC champions in consecutive games as the Stormers, who won the inaugural tournament, head to Durban in the first game after the international break.

It’s a tough trio of fixtures for both teams, but the fact they are playing top opposition means there is an opportunity to lay a marker in the sand.

“Playing two top teams means we do see it as an opportunity, where we are at the moment will be decided by these next two games and hopefully we can get some of our fizz back playing at home,” said Stormers director of rugby John Dobson after his team’s disappointing 38-7 defeat to Edinburgh.

Few would have foreseen that margin of defeat for the Stormers, who showed a lot of control in their impressive win over Zebre in Parma the week before. But the game was in the balance when the referee made a lamentable error that allowed Edinburgh to score the try that put them more than a score ahead with time running out, thus prompting the Stormers to leak points in chasing the game.

SHARKS WILL BE STRENGTHENED

It has been a dramatic see-sawing few weeks for the Sharks too, but like with the Stormers there is context - the Sharks’ trip to Treviso, where they lost by an almost identical score to what the Stormers did later, 38-7 in the case of the Durbanites, came at the end of a tough six week phase that included three tough Currie Cup games in addition to the three URC game, and five of those games were on the road.

“We’re just looking forward to getting home and playing at home,” said coach John Plumtree after the game.

The Stormers feel the same, with both teams missing out on the opportunity to start out at home when the South African participation in the opening round was suspended due to the clash with the Currie Cup final. The Stormers were due to host the Vodacom Bulls that day, 21 September, and the Sharks were set to play the Emirates Lions in Durban.

Both coaches will feel that their record from the tours was better than this time last year, when they returned with four losses in four starts. But as Dobson says, while it doesn’t feel as bad as last year, the next two games will determine whether he’s right or not.

Beating the reigning champions, who have recovered well from their shock opening defeat to Ulster, will be a massive statement for the Sharks, who are expected to welcome back several Springboks who were unavailable to tour because it started while the national team was still engaged in the task of winning the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.

The return of the likes of Eben Etzebeth should certainly lift those players around them that may need rejuvenation after their tough opening to the season, as will playing in front of the Kings Park faithful. The Sharks have already racked up quite an extensive injury list, but it is not as bad as the Stormers’ in the case of Bok players - the only current Boks the Stormers are set to get back are Manie Libbok and Frans Malherbe, for the rest are injured.

And that will only happen a week later for the Stormers, meaning their game against Glasgow Warriors on 26 October, because Dobson gave them three weeks off as part of the Bok resting protocols.

STORMERS HAVE YET TO BEAT MUNSTER

The Stormers haven’t beaten Glasgow since they did the business at DHL Stadium against them in the inaugural season, a game which ironically played a pivotal role in Glasgow’s rise to become champions after that as it was their comprehensive defeat to a team playing a style they admired and have now adopted that scripted the later arrival of Franco Smith as their coach.

There again, the Stormers haven’t played Glasgow at home since then, so visiting Cape Town will be a new experience for Smith as a coach. The last time Glasgow were in Durban they lost quite heavily to a Bok laden Sharks team, so while they don’t have the extra intimidatory factor on their tour of having to go to altitude, the Scottish team does face a daunting challenge.

The Stormers have never beaten Munster, and lost the 2022/2023 final to Graham Rowntree’s team, so there will be plenty of edge to Saturday’s challenge in Cape Town. And therefore by implication, also lots to celebrate and a big confidence boost should they win.

Munster beat the Sharks away last year and drew in Durban in the final URC league game of 2022/23 but they shipped 50 points a few weeks before that when they played an Investec Champions Cup game at Kings Park.

OPPORTUNITY FOR INLAND TEAMS

While the two coastal teams prepare for their home games against iconic opponents, the inland teams have an opportunity to further strengthen the already sound platforms they have created for themselves after they followed up perfect home starts to their campaign with wins in their first tour games.

The Lions will fancy their chances against Zebre, who they beat in Parma the very first URC game ever played back in 2021, while the Bulls are the one South African team that appears to be capable of asserting the dominance that local teams should over Welsh sides and will start favourites to beat Scarlets in Llanelli.

ROUND 5 VODACOM UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES

Ulster v Ospreys (Belfast, Friday 8:35pm)

Scarlets v Vodacom Bulls (Llanelli, Friday 8:35pm)

Zebre v Emirates Lions (Parma, Saturday 1:30pm)

Hollywoodbets Sharks v Glasgow Warriors (Durban, Saturday 3:45pm)

DHL Stormers v Munster (Cape Town, Saturday 6pm)

Edinburgh v Cardiff Rugby (Edinburgh, Saturday 6:15pm)

Dragons v Benetton (Newport, Saturday 8:35pm)

Connacht v Leinster (Galway, Saturday 8:35pm)